Marshall grinned. "Natalie, why don't you come over to my place? My grandmother has been waiting for you. She absolutely adores you and talks about you every single day. I think she wishes you could stay by her side twenty-four-seven."

She loved Natalie even more than her own biological granddaughter.

Natalie didn't refuse. Though the confrontation was exhausting, seeing the villains get their due had put her in high spirits.

She genuinely adored Mrs. Spencer Sr., too. She was an elegant, loving woman who had weathered many storms. Sometimes, just a single piece of advice from her was enough to completely shift Natalie's perspective.

"Let's go, then. Dinner at your place sounds perfect. I miss your grandmother anyway."

Marshall beamed. He pushed Natalie to the car, carefully helped her into the passenger seat, and stowed her folding wheelchair in the trunk.

Then, with a bright smile on his face, he hopped into the driver's seat and pulled away.

Wendy followed them outside, watching Natalie's car disappear into the distance. Her face was already streaked with tears.

She knew deep down that it was too late. Her daughter would never look back at her again.

But thinking about what Natalie had said that the DNA test had been swapped twice-could her real father have been watching her from the shadows all this time? And then there was Mr. Griffith Sr. Why had he made such a specific demand of Nathan?

Did he know Natalie's true identity?

She was starting to see the bigger picture.

Natalie looked a lot like her, but in profile, she was the spitting image of her biological father.

She still remembered that man from all those years ago. As much as she tried to forget him, his striking looks were impossible to erase. Just one glance at him, and he was burned into her memory forever.

He dressed impeccably, possessed an otherworldly charm, carried himself with a gentle elegance, and was incredibly wealthy.

Back then, she had rushed into marriage at a young age, hanging on solely because Nathan had treated her well.

But in the face of financial pressure and grueling work, Nathan's fake affection proved utterly worthless.

Those were dark, bitter times. She felt misunderstood by her parents-though, in reality, her

parents had seen right through net

Nathans smooth talk and Knewa man like that would only drag her down.

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Yet she stubbornly clung to the naive belief that true love could conquer all.

"Heh..."

Wendy let out a pained, hollow laugh. Despite her glamorous appearance, tears filled her eyes. harsh gust of wind caught in her throat, sending her into a painful fit of coughing.

"Cough, cough..."

"Mom, are you okay? Are you not feeling well?" Colin rushed over, supporting her

arm with deep concern.

Wendy shook her head, her voice strained. "Colin, I'm fine."

Colin studied her pale face. She looked devastated, and it twisted his gut.

"Mom, did Mr. Scott hurt you?"

Ever since they had been cast aside, he refused to call the man 'Dad', referring to Nathan strictly as 'Mr. Scott'.

Wendy laughed bitterly. "Colin, he

doesn't have the power to hurt me anymore, I watched him lose. everything today, but it didn't bring me any real joy."

Gripping her son's hand, intense hatred flashed in her eyes. "Colin, he doesn't deserve to be your father. He genuinely wanted all five of you dead."

A sharp pang tore through Colin's chest. He parted his lips to speak, but swallowed hard, forcing the emotion back down.

Filled with bitterness, he managed a tight smile. "Mom, we're fine. We're all adults now. Whether he wants us or not doesn't change anything for us."

A father's love tainted by lies and calculation wasn't worth having anyway.

But Wendy still couldn't let it go. All those years, she had genuinely believed in love!

Had her romantic delusions blinded her so thoroughly that she lost everything?